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NATO: Russia Can Contribute More To Afghan War Effort

March 24, 2010

NATO says Russia can contribute to the war effort in Afghanistan by training more counternarcotics agents and providing helicopters to the country's air force.

Alliance spokesman James Appathurai said NATO understands Russian concerns that the U.S.-led force in Afghanistan and the Kabul government were not actively pursuing a policy of eradicating the poppy crop that is used to produce heroin.

Appathurai was speaking after a meeting at the ambassadorial level of the NATO-Russia Council.

The meeting was attended by Viktor Ivanov, head of the Russian drug control agency, who spoke on the threat to Russia, Central Asia, and Europe posed by Afghan drugs production.

On March 22, Russia's ambassador to the United Nations, Vitaly Churkin, urged U.S. and NATO commanders in Afghanistan to continue efforts to eradicate opium poppy fields, saying Taliban militants obtain financial resources from the illegal drugs trade.

Some 30,000 Russians die each year from drugs smuggled into the country from Afghanistan.

compiled from agency reports

Source: http://www.rferl.org/content/NATO_Russia_Can_Contribute_ More_To_Afghan_War_Effort/1992808.html

Copyright (c) 2010. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.